Friday, 15 April 2016

A family walk in the countryside turned to horror when a grandmother was killed by a cow that charged towards her.

Breaking away from a stampeding herd, the animal repeatedly butted Marian Clode, 61, before ‘catapulting’ her into the air and over a gate. She landed in a field with such force that she suffered a broken neck...

The family had rented a cottage at Swinhoe Farm, near the village of Belford in Northumberland – and planned to go walking, horseriding and sightseeing.

They were enjoying a walk in the Cheviot Hills on April 3 – the first day of their stay – and were returning on a public bridleway a few hundred yards from the cottage when they saw up to 20 cows with calves running towards them...

[The description of the actual attack is pretty graphic and not for the faint hearted.]

Mr Nixon, 56 [the owner of the herd], said he was on the quad bike in front of the herd with a stockman behind. But he added: "The cattle broke past us, which is why there was nobody in front. We thought about chasing after them, but [that] would actually aggravate them into running faster.

"Unfortunately people were on the track. It was the first time [the cows] had been turned out on the grass. They had been in the winter housing for a long time so it was their first chance to exercise their legs. We were adhering to the health and safety regulations … We tried to do everything right. This time it went wrong and has resulted in something tragic."

In a rare display of respect, the Mail mentions where the family lives but does not say how much their house is worth.